CHAPTER 7: AND NOW THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM, ANOTHER INFORMATION SOURCE

Who really knows, but many of the unknowns still hidden in the endocrine system (ES) may contain the answers to the flows and ebbs of human behavioral misfortunes and states of elation. It is a system with a high “engineering content”. In it, control is omnipotent, showing delicate high sensitivities all over, with extremely low concentrations of hormones in many cases. Its derangements lead always to unhappy endings. Its functional subsystems include the hypothalamic – hypophyseal axis, the catecholamine system (adrenal medulla, its central gland), the thyroid – parathyroid system for calcium regulation, the insulin – glucagon system (pancreas), the renin – angiotensin – cardionatrine system, and the relatively recently revisited pineal gland and associated Biological Clock, the two latter systems dealt with in other chapters of this book. Deconvolution is once more used, this time in a quite physiological ingenious way. The ES controls, coordinates, and regulates different functions in the organism, many times in conjunction with the nervous system. Its actions are relatively slow to take place because the hormones — with their messages — are released into the blood stream by the internal secretion glands. Hormones are highly specific and only trigger effects on well-determined targets (cells or organs). The elicited response is usually proportional to the stimulating hormonal concentration.